- Catch a Falling Star at the Barrowland Ballroom – Part 1 There can’t be a music fan in Scotland who has not had a few swallies in town before rambling up Argyle Street and nodding a cap to Glasgow Cross, entering the Gallowgate and then experienced that magical rush when turning that wee bend in the street that allows you to see the neon Barrowland sign […]
- Take Me Out – Alec Downie’s Top 20 Scottish Cover Versions (10-1) Last week Alec teased us with the first half of his top 20 Scottish cover versions. This week he finally runs down his top ten which includes classics from Belle and Sebastian, Travis and Biffy Clyro.
- Distracted by Amazing Grace & Plastic Jocks A few weeks ago I wrote an article for Dear Scotland on homesickness and used Glen Campbell’s (a Texan with a fine Scottish name) sublime version of Travis’s Sing as the catalyst to my thoughts. I then spent a week rediscovering The Incredible String Band for my last pieces; however I was continually distracted by […]
- The Incredible String Band – Part 2 As the 40th anniversary of Woodstock approaches, Alec Downie continues his look back at Scotland’s only representative at the legendary festival, The Incredible String Band. Following their disastrous appearance at Woodstock, ISB never had the same success, but their influence continues to grow.
- The Incredible String Band – Part 1 In December 1968 Ed Ochs of Billboard wrote “The Incredible String Band have the lock and key to a very special musical experience” and of late Bob Young of Uncut scribed, “Modern ears frequently can’t get past the more frivolous side of The Incredible String Band: the Gilbert & Sullivan silliness of “Minotaur Song”, or […]
- How to be a “Rock and Roll Tourist”: on the Cludgy with ISB Admit it. We all read on the throne and Billy Connolly made Scottish humour synonymous with toilets, so this week’s article is going down the pan.
- By the Time I Get To Greenock “When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had and never will have” – Edgar Watson Howe Following our tragic national tradition that sees our brightest minds scattered like wilting heather around the globe, I recently put myself into self imposed exile in Didim Turkey and spent 21 months […]